KOTA KINABALU, Nov 1 — Celebrities Andy Lau and Louis Khoo are among the stars who may be coming to Sabah as part of its first ever Hong Kong Action Movie fest in March next year.
The first ever film fest of its kind year is a collaboration between the state government and private production company My Heart Productions from Hong Kong and will take place over four days.
“We have Andy Lau and Louis Khoo among about 20 celebrities who are coming. Jackie Chan is also on the list. It’s our first time and we want to go big. It’s been successful in other countries so far,” said Deputy chief minister and Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
The event, expected to take place between March 20 to 23 will feature about eight popular action movies to be screened over four days. A red carpet event and meet the fans sessions is expected to be the highlight, which will be able to pull in crowds.
“We think fans of Hong Kong movies will be willing to fly in from all over the world for this event. It will benefit the tourism industry for both Sabah and Hong Kong as they will also have a big news conference to announce our collaboration there,” said Liew.
“Besides the mall and cinemas used for the event, there will also be a grand dinner and hotels will be booked for the celebrities, crew, and tourists who will come for the event. We believe it will be a good draw,” she said
Aside from bringing in tourism business, organiser Gin Lau from My Heart Productions said that they are also hoping to spur the local film industry by encouraging the use of local crews throughout the film festival.
“We have done a lot of these fests in China, Canada, Thailand… we feel that Sabah is still unexploited and has a lot to offer the film industry. If the response is strong, we will venture into more film and production here in Sabah,” he said.
He also said that any proceeds from the event, after covering operational costs, will go towards charity.
